Bottle lock

ABSTRACT

A device, consisting of a plurality of plate, disk, ball, gate or other types of valves, or switches, or apertures, or like passageways; all grouped, or stacked or ganged in series to form a single working unit, and configurable in such a manner that each acts as a physical block or nonconductive environment for any chosen material, sound, light, or other transmittable or transportable media, until manipulated into an indexed position.  
     When all parts of the device are manipulated into the proper position, as determined by the indexing marks or labels, this invention will conduct or permit passage or transmission of a given medium.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates generally to mechanical locks forcontainers, such as a secure lid or stopper for a jar or bottle,requiring no key or tool to open or close the device. It should beapparent to those skilled in the art that this device need not belimited to use as a lock for containers, but can also be employed, withmany obvious modifications in pipes, conduit, electrical conductors andmechanical linkages, among numerous other applications.

[0003] 2. Prior art

[0004] It would be advantageous to provide a secure means of sealing acontainer, such as a bottle, for obvious reasons including safety,security and convenience. Previous attempts at designing locking systemsfor containers fall short of convenience or practicality, or elseprovide very limited protection, as in the case of the child resistantbottle cap.

[0005] There has been some interest in safer ways to lock bottles, suchas liquor bottles, medicine bottles, chemical containers to name a few.The problems with a locking bottle cap include complexity, such as theneed for some key or other tool to operate, the time, effort andconcentration needed to operate such devices, and the relative lack ofsecurity against unauthorized intrusion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Briefly described, in one preferred form, an object of thisinvention is a device permitting the user to easily seal or open acontainer by manipulating any of the moveable parts of the device eitherinto alignment or out of alignment. Because any number of moving partscan be incorporated into the device, the total number of possiblecombinations of positions is virtually infinite.

[0007] Because it is necessary to properly align every moving part ofthe device in a predetermined position to allow access to the interiorof the container through the device, only a person with prior knowledgeof the proper combination of positions will likely be able to manipulatethe device into it's open state, thereby allowing access to the interiorof the container.

[0008] The concept is somewhat similar to the prior art commonly knownas a combination lock, where knowledge of the proper positioning of eachof the moveable parts of the device is necessary in order to open thedevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 illustrates the neck of a bottle, into which is inserted astopper 1, formed to fit tightly within the opening of the bottle.Projecting from the top of stopper 1 is a pin 2, attached to the centerof the upper surface of stopper 1. A series of disks 3, each with a holethrough its center to accommodate pin 2, are stacked above stopper 1.Each disk is free to rotate around the central axis formed by pin B.

[0010] A hole 4, is formed, parallel to pin 2, and somewhere between theimaginary axis described by pin 2, and the outer edge of the disks. Thishole passes through all of the disks, and through the stopper, allowingpassage of the contents of the bottle. An additional hole 5, may existto allow air to displace liquid poured from the bottle.

[0011] A top cap 6, including a screen, baffle, and/or spout, may besecured to the end of pin 2 causing the disks and the stopper to remainin close contact, while allowing rotational movement of the rings. Thescreen, baffle, or spout will serve to discourage easy visual orphysical probing of the hole or aperture.

[0012] An indexing mark or label 7, is located on the outer surface ofeach disk, and on the side of the base or stopper, at the closestproximity to the hole or aperture 4, along with additional markingsaround the entire exterior surface of each moveable disk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] One embodiment of this device would be use as a bottle lock,formed integral with, or otherwise attached to the open end of a bottle,jar or similar container, that would only allow access to the interiorof the container when all manipulable disks or valves integrated in thedevice are properly aligned. When one or more of the manipulable partsof this device is moved out of position, this device serves to seal thecontainer.

[0014] Because it is necessary to have prior knowledge of the properpositioning of each of the manipulable parts of the device in order toallow access to the interior of the container, and because the totalnumber of disks or valves is virtually unlimited, the present inventionserves to secure the contents, or the interior of the container fromunauthorized access.

[0015] While the present invention has been disclosed in its preferredforms, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that manymodifications, additions, and deletions can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and its equivalentsas set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bottle lock, comprising: a. a lid or stopper,adaptable to insert or otherwise attach to the open end of a bottle orjar or similar container; b. the lid or stopper having a hole passingthrough it, located at a given point somewhere between the central axisand the outer edge, and serving as an aperture or passage between theinterior and exterior of the container; c. the lid or stopper having anindexing mark somewhere on it's outer edge in closest proximity to thehole or aperture; d. the lid or stopper having a pin attached to thecenter of the top surface, extending away from the lid or stopper somedistance along the central axis of the lid or stopper
 2. the lid orstopper as in 1, with any number of disks stacked atop it's uppersurface; a. each disk having a hole through it's central axis, toaccommodate the pin described in 1c, allowing the disk to rotate aroundthe fixed pin; b. each disk having an additional hole passing throughit, located somewhere between it's center point and it's outer edge,positioned so that it will line up with the hole or aperture in 1b; c.each disk marked or labeled on it's outer edge in closest proximity tothe hole in the disk; d. each disk marked or labeled along it's entireouter edge with any number of indications each different anddistinctive;
 3. a screen or baffle; a. attached to the end of the pinpassing through the central axis of the disks; b. the screen or bafflesecuring the disks to the fixed part of the device, while allowing thedisks to rotate while without losing contact with each other or with theupper surface of the lid or stopper; c. the screen or baffle allowingpassage of the contents of the jar or bottle, while denying visual andphysical access to the interior of the device from the outside.